Palestinian Death Toll Rises in Territories for Third Year

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the territories has increased during each of the past three years, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.

From Dec. 8, 1992, to Dec. 8 of this year –the sixth year of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada — 165 Palestinians were killed by members of Israel’s security forces.

The total is up from 121 in the previous year, and 97 in the year before that. It is lower, however, than the death tolls during the first two years of the intifada, from December 1987 to December 1989. There were 284 Palestinian deaths in the first year of the uprising and 300 in the second.

B’Tselem also reported that between Sept. 13 of this year, when the Israeli-Palestine Liberation Organization self-rule accord was signed, and Dec. 8, there were 36 Israeli and Palestinian deaths in the territories. Killings of Palestinians by other Palestinians were down this year from last.